Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman Concert Series Kicks off June 20

The 20th Annual Springer Mountain Farms Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman concert series will kick off Thursday, June 20 with a performance by Vince Gill.

The popular concert series boasts a stellar lineup of some of the top instrumentalists and vocalists in the genre. The historic Ryman Auditorium is the ideal venue to showcase bluegrass; it served as the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 until 1974, and it was on that stage, in December of 1945, that 21-year-old Earl Scruggs first publicly debuted his signature style of playing a five-string banjo with a three-finger roll. That sound became the final ingredient in the musical form that came to be know as bluegrass.

The 2013 series runs every Thursday night from June 20-July 25, when it wraps with a performance from Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder. Other performers include Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, the Gibson Brothers, Ralph Stanley and Jim Lauderdale, and Dailey & Vincent.

Tickets to each individual show are $27.50, or season passes are available for $147.00. Purchase tickets by phone at (615) 458-BLUE, at the Ryman or Grand Ole Opry box office, or at Ryman.com. For more information about the dates and individual performances, visit this link.